Developer:
PlatinumGames
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: March 17, 2017 (Windows)
Played on: Windows (also available on PS4, Xbox One)
Played for: 57h (all endings)
NieR: Automata is a beautifully melancholy, and often
fascinatingly strange and charming, post-apocalyptic
tale about humanity (in which you play as beautiful
androids fighting cute robots).

It is a pretty damn great, responsive action game in its
own right, but what really makes it special is how each
playthrough unveils something new, both gameplay and
story wise (and the story is good). You need
to play through it multiple times; the first time
the credits roll is really just the beginning (and the
true ending is, quite frankly, fucking amazing).

Visually,
a lot of the game is grim, barren wasteland, but it
has its own sort of beauty to it, especially when
paired up with the gorgeous music that fits the mood
of the game perfectly (and the pace of it as well, as
many of the tracks have different versions to fit each
situation).
The bleak atmosphere of the game also makes the really
astonishing scenes (which it does have, but I
don’t want to spoil here) truly memorable.

There are some annoying
invisible walls in the otherwise open environments, and
some awkward camera angles in the more experimental
sections of the game. Running back and forth between the
same few areas can also become tedious before unlocking
fast-travel (which takes a good while). Then again, it’s
cool to realize that by the end of the game, or probably
sooner, you know the land like the back of your hand.Also, a word of warning to PC
players: the PC version doesn't like Alt+Tab. At
all. And though I personally didn't run into any
other problems, the port is reportedly a mixed bag
when it comes to bugs and glitches.

All
in all, NieR: Automata is a fantastic game, which takes
advantage of the medium like very few games have. It is
a near perfect mix of satisfying mechanics and beautiful
storytelling, and its final act made me emotional in a
way only a videogame can (quite literally).
I haven’t been this compelled by a game, especially a
AAA one, in years.
This truly is a game to remember.